Home Instead Senior Care Crawley

Updated 12 February 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 14 January 2019 and was announced. The inspection was carried out by one inspector. We gave the service 48 hours notice of the inspection visit because we needed to ensure staff would be at the provider’s office.

Before the inspection we checked information that we held about the service provider. This included information from other agencies and statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke to two people, and, to eight relatives of people, who received a service from Home Instead Senior Care Crawley. We spoke to five care staff and asked a further seven staff about their work via a survey. We also received feedback from one community health and social care professional. During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and the nominated individual, Mr Gonasulu Rajive De Chickerea.

We looked at the care plans and associated records for four people. We reviewed other records, including the provider’s internal checks and audits, staff training records, accidents, incidents and records of medicines administered to people.

Updated 12 February 2019

The inspection was announced and took place on 14 January 2019.

Home Instead Senior Care Crawley provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. Personal care and support can be provided for people living with a learning disability, autism, dementia, mental health needs, older people, younger adults and people with a physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection personal care was provided to 15 people in their own home.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Staff had a good awareness of the importance of protecting people and what to do if they considered people were not being treated appropriately. Risks were assessed and there were procedures for care staff to follow to ensure people were safely supported. Medicines were safely managed.

Sufficient numbers of staff were provided to meet people’s needs. Checks were made on the suitability of new staff to work in a care setting. Staff were trained in infection control and had access to protective clothing to help prevent the spread of infection. Reviews of accidents and incidents took place.

Care staff were supported well and had access to a range of training courses including nationally recognised qualifications in care.

People’s nutritional needs were assessed and people were supported with food and drinks, when this was needed. Health care needs were assessed and the provider made referrals to health services where this was needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The provider had a good knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and made appropriate referrals to the local authority when people did not have capacity and whose freedom needed to be restricted for their own safety.

Care staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were supported to make decisions about their care and support, which promoted their independence. Care staff had a good understanding of the need to ensure people’s privacy was upheld.

People’s needs were assessed. Each person had care plans which reflected their needs, preferences and choices. People and their relatives told us the staff were responsive to people’s care needs and ensured person centred care was provided. People’s communication needs were assessed.

Relatives said they had a good dialogue with the care staff and management team. They told us they felt able to raise any concerns and issues were always responded to.

The service was well-led. The provider had systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included seeking the views of people, their relatives and staff about the quality of the service. Staff performance was monitored and staff were supported to develop their skills and knowledge.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.